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Wisconsin Veterans Museum Research Center Transcript of an Oral History Interview with Farnham J. “Gunner” Johnson Lieutenant, Marine Corps, World War II. 1996 OH 543 1 OH 543 Johnson, Farnham J. (1924-2001). Oral History Interview, 1996. User Copy: 1 sound cassette (ca. 35 min.); analog, 1 7/8 ips, mono. Master Copy: 1 sound cassette (ca. 35 min.); analog, 1 7/8 ips, mono. Transcript: 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder) Military Papers: 0.1 linear ft. (1 folder) Abstract: Farnham “Gunner” Johnson, an Appleton, Wisconsin native, discusses his service as a 1st lieutenant in the Marine Corps during World War II with the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Forward Echelon and with the Guam Island Command. Johnson mentions his family moved from Minnesota to Appleton (Wisconsin) when he was age one because his father, a dentist and World War I Marine Corps veteran, left the Veterans Administration Hospital where he had been working to open his own dental practice. Johnson mentions he graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Menasha (Wisconsin) in 1941 and attended the University of Wisconsin in the fall, where he played on the football team. He recalls hearing about the bombing of Pearl Harbor in the football dormitory and being one of the few who knew where Pearl Harbor was located. Johnson discusses at length his football career at the University of Wisconsin, in the Marine Corps, and as a professional with the Chicago Bears and the All American Football Conference’s Chicago Rockets. In 1941, Johnson states the University of Wisconsin made ROTC compulsory for all male students; he describes doing ROTC drills in the livestock pavilion. Johnson left the ROTC because he was allergic to the straw and animals in the pavilion; however, he joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps instead. He comments that many of his teammates joined the Marines (including two who were killed in Okinawa) and suggests the Marines recruited football players because of their leadership skills. In July 1943, Johnson was called up to active duty with the V-12 Navy College Training Program. For one year, he attended classes at the University of Michigan as well as officer training and military drills. Next, Johnson describes attending boot camp in 1944 at Parris Island (South Carolina) with a group consisting entirely of “college men,” mostly from Wisconsin, but also from Harvard and Dartmouth. He also details his pre-officer candidate training at Camp LeJeune (North Carolina) where he stayed for twenty-five weeks. Finally, Johnson was called up to Quantico Marine Corps Base (Virginia) and completed Officer Candidate School, earning the rank of 1 st lieutenant. Johnson criticizes the military for promoting an entire class of officer candidates to 2 nd lieutenant too quickly, stating this was the reason for American losses in Saipan (Mariana Islands). After a brief stay at Camp Pendleton (California), Johnson was deployed to the Pacific with the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Forward Echelon which was scheduled to participate in the Invasion of Japan. Johnson recalls learning of the atomic bombing of Japan on the troop ship between Enewetak Atoll and Guam. Although trained as an infantry officer, Johnson was reassigned to be a staff officer at Island Command in Guam. He mentions he worked with General Henry Larson in Guam, an experience that prepared him for the workforce. In addition, Johnson also did sports-casting for a friend who worked for the Armed Forces Radio Station, WXLY-GUAM. After leaving Guam on points in 1946, Johnson’s last duty was to serve as a prison guard aboard the USS Samuel Chase , guarding servicemen who had committed minor crimes and misdemeanors overseas. After delivering the 2 prisoners to Norfolk (Virginia), Johnson returned to the University of Wisconsin to finish his degree on the G.I. Bill. He characterizes the campus as “wall-to-wall servicemen” and notes there were many women veterans as well. Johnson recalls living in a makeshift dorm in the football stadium beside trailers that housed student-veterans and their families. Johnson majored in geography at the UW, and later he got a second BA in economics and a Masters in international management from the American Institute of Foreign Trade (Arizona). Between college and grad school, Johnson reveals he played professional football with the Chicago Bears (1947) and the Chicago Rockets (1948). He estimates that ninety-five percent of football players were veterans, included Bears coach George Halas, a World War I Marine Corps veteran. Johnson spends much time discussing his career as an international manager for B.F. Goodrich. He traveled extensively on business in Europe and Africa, and tells of being caught in the crossfire of military coups in Chad, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Johnson emphasizes that his Marine Corps training helped him cope with these violent political situations. In 1951, Johnson was called up to Korea; however, due to football injuries, he did not pass the physical. During the 1950s, Johnson sold rubber to the Chinese Air Force and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War and to the French in Vietnam. Johnson reveals he traveled to Saigon and Bien Hoa (Vietnam) several times on business during the 1960s and 1970s because B.F. Goodrich was part of a conglomerate rubber company contracting with the U.S. military. Johnson retired from B.F. Goodrich in 1988 and settled in Alabama. Throughout the interview, Johnson illustrates how his love of geography lead to interesting opportunities: he convinced a warrant officer in Guam to send him back to the East Coast of the US (rather than the West Coast) so he could visit the Panama Canal; he traveled in Africa and Asia on international business, which he states was unusual at that time; and he visited Antarctica and Greenland during his retirement. Finally, Johnson explains that his nickname, “Gunner,” was coined by a sports announcer during his college football days in Madison. Biographical Sketch: Johnson (1924-2001) was born in Minnesota and grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1941 and attended the University of Wisconsin, graduating in 1945 with a degree in Geography. At the UW, Johnson played football and participated in the Enlisted Reserve Corps with the Marines. In 1942, he began officer training at the University of Michigan, eventually becoming a 1 st lieutenant. Johnson served with the Fleet Marine Force Pacific Forward Echelon at Island Command in Guam from 1945 to 1946. From 1947 to 1948, Johnson played professional football with the NFL’s Chicago Bears and the AAFC’s Chicago Rockets. In 1950, he earned a Masters in International Management from the American Institute of Foreign Trade (Glendale, Arizona). Representing the B.F. Goodrich Company, Johnson traveled to Africa, Asia, and Europe; he sold rubber to the Chinese Air Force during the Chinese Civil War and to the French during the early stages of the Vietnam War. In 1988, Johnson retired from B.F. Goodrich to his home in Alabama. Interviewed by Michael Telzrow, 1996 Transcribed by Rose Polachek, Wisconsin Court Reporter, 2004 Transcript edited and abstract written by Darcy I. Gervasio, 2010 3 Interview Transcript: Mike: This is an interview with Farnham J. Johnson. The date is November 8, 1996. The interview is conducted by Michael Telzrow, for the Wisconsin Veterans Oral History project. Okay, I want to start out with some questions about what you did before the war. What year were you born? F.J.: 1924. Mike: And you grew up in Wisconsin? F.J.: I was born in Minnesota and moved here when I was one and into Appleton. Mike: What type of work did your father do? F.J.: My father was a dentist. In Minnesota he was with the Veterans Administration and he was a WWI Marine who enlisted even though he was a dentist. He was gassed and wounded in France, and came back and went to the Veterans Administration as a dentist in Minnesota. When he got enough money he moved to Appleton and set up his own practice. That’s how I got there. Mike: So he was a Marine in WWI in France? F.J.: WWI. Mike: Great. So you grew up in Appleton. What was that like? What did you do before the war started? Obviously you went to school in Appleton? F.J.: No, I went to grade school in Appleton and then I went to St. Mary’s High School in Menasha, WI and graduated from there in 1941. Mike: And that was right after, right before Pearl Harbor? F.J.: Right before Pearl Harbor. Mike: Do you remember what you were doing when you heard that Pearl had been bombed? F.J.: Yup, I think everybody does. I was in the rooming house over here near the stadium with some other football players and one of the other gentlemen that lived in the rooming house came in that afternoon and said the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor and I was a geography buff so I knew where it was. A lot of people didn’t know. Mike: Break out the map and show them huh? 4 F.J.: Yeah. Mike: So this is why you were in school here. F.J.: Yeah, I was a freshman. Mike: And you were playing football? F.J.: Yes. Mike: Did you receive a scholarship or did they do that back then? F.J.: No. We got some very good benefits and we got a mail job that was over in Elizabeth Waters and we worked for something called the Madison Business Association down here. We walked around the square taking down license numbers which we didn’t understand what it was for.

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